Through Steam and Frost
by Anath Tsurugi
Summary: Ever since the Daemon Wars ended, all Tucker's wanted is to find a place he and his half-daemon son can call home. He'd thought Blood Gulch just might be that place, but when a gang of freelance hunters shows up, he and the ragtag group of friends he calls family are thrown into a world of danger and intrigue that makes the horrors of the war seem like a dream.
1. Into the Darkness

(A/N) Hello, fellow fans. Welcome to the start of another story. Before we get into this one, I should let you know this is part of the same universe four of my other stories take place in: Hollow Moon, Blood Moon, Paper Moon, and Broken Moon. While you don't need to have read those stories to enjoy this one, I would definitely suggest checking them out if you find yourself enjoying this verse. For those of you who have been waiting for this story to begin, welcome back. I thoroughly hope you enjoy.

Also, full list of pairings for this story is as follows: Maine/Wash, Felix/Locus, Carolina/Emily Grey, South/C.T., Grif/Simmons, North/York, and Wyoming/Florida. So yes, quite a few of them. ;)

 **Warnings:** Gore.

 **Through Steam and Frost**

 _Chapter 1: Into the Darkness_

 **Excerpt from the Nettle Witch's report on the Daemon Wars to Senator Malcolm Hargrove, Chairman of the Hunter Registration Committee**

 _Really everything can be traced back to the actions of Leonard Church, known in his time as the Shard Witch. He was widely regarded as the most brilliant witch of the age, having created several magical applications in the fields of medicine and agriculture. He was, however, also a very gifted hunter and it was through the invention of a certain focusing technique of his that he earned the title Shard Witch._

 _Under normal circumstances, witches partner with their familiar spirits in order to engage in hunting, the spirits forming the necessary weapons or armor. In the case of Leonard Church and his familiar spirit, Allison, they were forced to find an alternate means when Allison became pregnant with the couple's twin children. While sexual relations between witches and their familiars are certainly common, the conception of children in such cases is very rare. Having no wish to risk the lives of their children, Church was forced to seek out another way of focusing his power. The method he invented was something he termed a sort of soul fragmentation – a technique that no witch since has been able to duplicate. The man was truly brilliant, but sadly, brilliant men are often given to obsession._

 _Things began to go downhill when Allison was killed during the hunt for the fallen angel, Farah. When Church lost Allison, he began to devote all of his resources and considerable intellect to defying the angels – to making the gates of death move in reverse so he could reclaim what he'd lost. After four years of work, he managed to discover a way of attempting his blasphemous course. It was, unfortunately, his intent that no other be able to follow in his footsteps, so he left no record of the ritual he performed. He didn't even inform his two comrades of their role in the working. He said only that he needed them, and Sound Witch Reginald Wexler and Nettle Witch Aiden Price, being the devoted disciples they were, obliged him._

 _There were four souls present the night of the Shard Witch's casting, the three witches and Price's familiar, Gwendolyn, sister to Allison. But there was also, unknown to the participants, a fifth soul. They had been followed by Church's young son, David. Was it the boy's presence that caused the casting to fail? It's impossible to say, but the fact remains that it did fail. Leonard Church summoned the first angel, Alpha, and used his soul fragmentation technique in an effort to fuse with the angel and take control of the gates of death. He managed to call Allison back to him, but her soul was incomplete, a thing only half existing. Unable to complete the full working, the combined angelic witch soul was unable to maintain the violation any longer and fragmented completely, creating individual entities of immense power colloquially known as Spirits._

 _Both Alpha and Leonard Church were destroyed in this process, leaving behind only the Spirits_ **(See subheading Meta Initiative)** _. Without its chief guardian, the boundary between the here and the hereafter began to fray and is fraying to this day. It was for this sin against the balance that the daemons rose up in war against humankind._

 _Chief among the spirit creatures that inhabit the world, the daemon race has historically been on shaky terms with humanity. The Shard Witch's trespass was all that was needed to spur them into conflict. Unable to recruit enough witches to fight against the daemons, the state began to conscript divisions of human soldiers, outfitting them with suits of armor made of merikite, the only mineral strong enough to withstand daemon attack. The human soldiers were able to stand against the enemy, but they were also more likely to be the victims of a daemon's last resort – implantation._

 _Implantation had been a very rare happening before the wars began. It may never be known why the daemons became so fixated on what is essentially war rape, but the fact remains that it became commonplace in the midst of the fighting. Upon being bested by a human soldier, a daemon warrior would implant its genetic material into the human before dying. Most often this was done via bite, but other daemons preferred more unsavory methods. The point being that, whether male or female, the soldier would become impregnated with the daemon's spawn._

 _In many cases, this was a death sentence for the soldier, as a daemonic implantation cannot be removed without serious damage to the soul. Depending on what form these offspring, or cambion, took, they could easily kill their bearer upon birth. Other victims chose to destroy these cambions rather than run the risk of becoming attached to them. More still suffered just that fate, unable to kill the offspring upon beholding them for the first time. The truth may never be known, but the chief theory that persists is that this is a daemon's final form of vengeance – to make their foes love their enemies in the form of their own children._

 _With enemies as formidable as the daemons, one is almost left wondering how it is that humans managed to survive all out war with them. This was due to the involvement of the other spirit races. Apart from the daemons, only one other race stood united against humanity – the mermyds. In the beginning, these creatures of water stood with the daemons in their war, enraged at the destroyed balance. Other races were not so uniformly on one side or the other. The faerie folk withdrew from the world entirely, closing the borders of their realm against the conflict. The vampires were about evenly split, some fighting alongside the daemons and others alongside the humans. The werewolves fought either against the humans or not at all, never given any reason to bear anything but hate toward them. Many of the races were divided in this way, some on one side, some on the other, all in conflict._

 _The balance of power began to shift, however, when the mermyds began to fight amongst themselves. Ultimately, their own infighting became so bad, they were forced to withdraw from the conflict. As of this writing, the status of the underwater realm Atlantis is unknown, but it was the loss of this ally that caused the daemon ranks to fracture. Many of the spirit creatures who had previously allied with them began to defect to the humans. As humanity's allies swelled, the daemons were gradually winnowed down to just a small minority of the spirit world, where before they had been the ruling majority. Ultimately, the fighting came to an end when the daemon hierarchy simply couldn't raise enough of a force to challenge their enemies, leaving only the smallest pockets of daemonic resistance remaining. Over the years, those who remain have occasionally attempted to mount another stand against humanity, but nothing ever comes of the rabble-rousing of these few radicals. In the eyes of history, the Daemon Wars have been over for five years._

 _For most, the war is long done, but there are still many for whom the war will never truly be over – they who were used to bring cambions into the world. Due to the influx of cambion born, the politics surrounding them have become a great deal more complex. In the early days, the killing of cambions was a simple matter. No authority would bother to bat an eye at mobs putting these children and their parents to death. But with so many near the war's end, people began to question the practice. Moreover, stronger cambions were being born all the time, creatures that could destroy their attackers with little more than a thought_ **(See subheading Covenant Incident)** _. In the face of such power, a tenuous peace exists in the land._

 _The state has, of course, conducted extensive research into the cambion born_ **(See subheading Project Halo)** , _but much remains to be learned about them. At the current moment, the advised course of action is to continue research into the full abilities of these half bloods. Likely it is through their power that order will be restored to our world. It is for this reason that the council must be urged to vote in favor of hunter registration. The cambion born are unlikely to ever submit to any sort of proposed registration, given their treatment at the hands of the state, but with all hunters in the direct employ of the state, it will be a much easier proposition to locate the cambions with the necessary abilities._

XxX

"Junior!" Tucker called as he hurried through the thinning trees. "Theta!"

The ex soldier had been looking for the two children for about an hour now. If they weren't with Donut, they could usually be found playing in the forest, but there'd been no sign of them so far and there wasn't a whole lot of daylight left.

"Fucking dammit," Tucker muttered to himself. Those two scamps knew better than to wander out into the badlands, didn't they? They _knew_ how dangerous it was. Maybe Grif and Simmons had found them?

"Lavernius Tucker Jr.! If you and Theta don't get your sorry behinds out here this minute, it is _not_ gonna be pretty!"

"Hiding. Hiding. Hiding. Hiding."

"The fuck?" Tucker started upon hearing the muffled voice. Moving in the direction he heard it coming from, he found himself drawn to an old rotting log he'd passed by earlier. As he drew closer, he started to hear another voice.

"Caboose, no. Be quiet," came Theta's high-pitched whisper.

"Hiding. Hiding. Hiding."

"Caboose, what the actual fuck?" Tucker growled as he tore a section of rotten wood away from the log, revealing the young witch crouching inside the small space with Junior and Theta. "You were supposed to be helping me look for them, not helping them hide!"

"But I _did_ find them," Caboose insisted. "And Theta said we were going to hide and surprise you."

"Yeah, but then you spoiled it," the young spirit creature said, though he was still grinning as he looped his arms around Caboose's wide shoulders.

"Well, you didn't fail in scaring me half to death," Tucker berated them as he reached in to pick up his grinning six-year-old, who was holding out his hands for him. "Caboose, how did you manage to even get in there?" he asked as he plucked Junior from the log. He sometimes forgot because of the man's simple behavior, but Michael J. Caboose was actually a very big man.

"Oh, y'know, just sorta crawled in," the blond witch explained as he began to crawl back out, and without Tucker really seeing what it was he'd done, he was suddenly standing outside the log with Theta hanging from his shoulder, both grinning playfully.

Shaking his head, Tucker turned to head back to the village with Junior clinging to his neck. Honestly, it was probably something to do with Caboose's errant magic that Tucker didn't want to think about. Magic had been a little too much a part of his life ever since Junior had come into it. Not that he would trade his son for anything, but it didn't mean things weren't more than a little crazy a lot of the time. Theta, for instance. When the little spirit had come to them, he'd been little more than a wisp of pale pink smoke with a vaguely human shape, but prolonged contact with Junior's cambion powers had granted Theta a mostly corporeal form. There were days Theta almost looked like a normal human child. As much as Tucker didn't want to think about the type of magic that must involve, he was content with it. After all, Theta was the only real friend Junior had. The residents of Blood Gulch tolerated their presence on Sarge's good word, but none of them were really willing to risk letting their children play with Junior. Even though he didn't fully understand just what sort of spirit Theta was, the shy little thing was still a blessing to them.

"Tucker…you're not mad…are you?" Theta asked uncertainly as he and Caboose followed after them.

"Only because I was worried," the former soldier answered, holding his son a little tighter. "You _know_ I worry. I just wish you wouldn't test me like this."

"So…do we still get to make cookies tonight?" Caboose asked.

Tucker laughed at the naïve question, and if there was a slight edge of near hysteria to it, well…who was really going to call him on it?

"Sure. Why the hell not. Snickerdoodles and chocolate chip all around."

Junior glanced indignantly up at him, licking his lips and shaking his head.

"Junior says he wants to make peppermint cookies, too," Theta put in as he skipped along beside Caboose.

"Peppermint, huh?" Tucker asked, grinning teasingly down at his son. "Damn, kiddo, that's a tall order. We'll have to see if Donut can get us the ingredients."

"Tucker!" a new voice was suddenly shouting. Looking up, Tucker saw Grif, Simmons, and Donut racing toward them. Donut was in panther form and as they ran, Tucker saw the puca spirit shift back into his human form – a young man with black hair that was highlighted with blond in several places.

"Thank the gods, you found them," Simmons panted, out of breath once the small group finally reached them. Tucker could see that the bumbling witch was fighting not to straight up drop to his knees.

"Take a breath there, smart ass," Grif said, pounding the other man on the shoulder and nearly knocking him over. With his stocky build, Tucker honestly wouldn't have been surprised if there was some dwarf blood somewhere in his family tree.

"I did. Why? What's going on?" Tucker asked, gaze shifting between his three friends.

"There's trouble in the village," Donut picked up. "Two guys showed up. Sarge is keeping them occupied, but…we think they might be looking for Theta."

"How do you know? What did they say?" Tucker pressed, gaze briefly darting back to his son's friend, who now looked worried, clinging anxiously to Caboose's side.

"Just that they were looking for a spirit. Mum as to what kind, but anyone asking questions like that does tend to set me on edge. I'm thinking you guys'll probably want to lie low for a few days. Maybe camp out in the old grove. These two look like they mean business."

"Then what makes you think hiding will help?" a new voice asked. Snapping to attention, the four ex soldiers immediately fell into a defensive circle around Caboose and Theta. Tucker set Junior down next to Theta before turning to face whatever the threat was.

He found himself staring down two men, one dressed in a black cloak trimmed in gold and the other in a white cloak. The one who'd spoken, the one in black, was nearly a head shorter than his partner. His hair was blond and his blue eyes were sharp and piercing. The other was a mountain of a man, hulking frame barely kept concealed by his white cloak. He had no hair to speak of and his eyes were an intense amber color Tucker didn't think he'd ever seen the like of before. If looks could kill, the former soldier was pretty sure this guy would be a mass murderer.

"Are these the guys?" Tucker asked Donut, reaching for the pistol he kept at his belt, ready to protect his two boys.

"Nope. Never seen these guys before in my life. Keep your eyes on the big one, though. He's a vamp."

"And him?" Tucker pressed, aiming his pistol at the shorter man, who just kept staring calmly at him.

"Witch. Gotta say, though, I don't think I've _ever_ seen a witch take a vampire as a spirit partner."

"He's not…not exactly my spirit partner. It's…complicated," the man tried to explain, shaking his head as a slight smile moved across his face. The giant raised an eyebrow, smirking wryly as he elbowed the shorter man. The witch looked up at him in fond exasperation. "What? It _is._ "

A moment of silence passed between the pair in which the vampire seemed to say something to the witch, but whatever it was, Tucker didn't hear anything. All he heard was the witch's next response.

"Don't even give me that. You don't know the first thing about being a familiar spirit. We're not- oh, sweet gods, this isn't even important right now. We're getting off topic," he said, turning his attention back to the huddled group in front of them.

"Who the hell are you people?" Tucker demanded, keeping his pistol pointed at the witch.

"My name is Washington. His is Maine. We're part of a freelance hunting agency that operates outside of Armonia."

"Washington? Maine? The fuck kind of made up names are those?" Grif asked.

"Seriously? _That's_ your question?" Simmons snarled at the other man. "Didn't you hear him? They're hunters. Probably came for Junior and Theta."

"If we could all just calm down, that would be good," Washington said, raising his hands in supplication. "We didn't come here to hurt anyone. I heard you say you've got Theta with you," he continued, shifting his head as if trying to look around them.

"That's none of your damn business," Tucker snapped. "Whatever you want with him, you can forget about it. Theta's my responsibility, no different than if he was my own kid."

"Then the best thing you can do for him is to let him come with us. We can take him somewhere safe," the witch explained, taking a tentative step forward. Tucker aimed his weapon directly between the man's eyes, letting him know the advance wasn't welcome.

"Where? A cell? Is he just going to disappear into some government prison gem? I'm not falling for that. You can just back right off, Washington."

"Tucker, I already told you. I'm _not_ a state witch. We don't work for them. We're freelance. I just want to keep the wrong people from getting ahold of Theta. People like the Spirits in your village right now."

"Hold up. Those two are spirit creatures?" Donut interrupted. "That can't be right. How come I couldn't sense what they were?"

"Probably because they didn't want you to. They're not spirit _creatures._ They're _Spirits_. Capital S. They're very powerful and very dangerous, and Theta's one of them."

"That's just ridiculous. Theta's not dangerous at all," Simmons tried to argue. "He's definitely nicer than a lot of other people I've met."

Washington raised an eyebrow at him. "You're a witch, aren't you? You're telling me you can't sense what kind of power he has?"

Simmons flushed in anger as he looked away from the other witch. "I'm a witch. I've got power…I'm just not very good with it. I never learned to use it."

"How…how do you know what I am?" Theta's quiet voice suddenly interrupted the argument. Blinking in surprise, Tucker turned to look back at Theta and Junior. His son was clinging to Theta, but the young Spirit was staring past him – at Washington.

"Theta…"

The expression on his face softening somewhat, Washington slowly dropped to one knee, bringing himself closer to Theta's height. "I know because…because I was there the night you were born."

Theta gasped at this, eyes widening in shocked realization. "You're…David?" he whispered.

"Hey, Theta," the witch said softly, maintaining his gentle front, even though there was clearly pain in his eyes. "It's been a while."

"Theta, you…you know this guy?" Tucker pressed, but instead of answering, Theta broke away from Junior and slipped past him, running toward the witch.

"David!"

"Theta, wait!"

With a look of amazement on his face, Washington caught the young Spirit in his arms, holding him close as Theta sobbed into his neck.

"David, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Theta cried as he clung to the witch.

"Shh. Sh, sh," Washington soothed him. "It wasn't your fault. You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"I d-didn't know what- to do. So I ran. I ran away. I c-couldn't do _anything_ ," the little Spirit choked out.

"There _wasn't_ anything you could've done."

"But you…I…they _hurt_ you."

"That was them, not you. You couldn't have stopped them."

"D-David…please…p-please forgive me."

"Theta, there's nothing to forgive," Washington said as he began to wipe the tears from Theta's cheeks. "But if it'll make you feel better, then of course I forgive you."

Theta smiled weakly up at the witch, throwing his arms around him again. Junior tried to move toward them, but Tucker immediately stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. When the witch looked up at them, Tucker glared at him.

"Thought you said your name was Washington."

"To you, it is," the man said pointedly. "A person can have more than one name."

"Tucker, please don't be angry with him," Theta started as he turned back to them. "He won't hurt us. David's nice."

Washington offered up a tired smile at this. "While I don't know how true that is these days…Theta…you aren't possessing another body. You're…corporeal. How are you doing that?"

"Oh, that's something Junior does," Theta answered, pointing back at his friend, and as Tucker put his gun away in favor of keeping both hands on his son's shoulders, he found himself near praying that Theta's trust in Washington wasn't misplaced. If the wrong people found out Junior had that kind of power…

"The child?" Maine asked, speaking for the first time in a gruff and quiet voice. Washington followed the vampire's gaze as he got to his feet.

"You're…Junior?" the witch asked slowly, to which the young cambion nodded vigorously.

"Junior doesn't talk," Theta said. "His voice got scared off."

"I know," Washington said quietly, keeping his gaze on Junior.

"Don't go poking around in his head," Tucker warned. "Only Theta's allowed to do that. If you wanna know something, just ask him. Theta will answer."

Washington blinked at him in confusion for a moment. "That isn't…how I know. I would _never_ read someone's mind without their permission. I'm not-"

"Wash," Maine interrupted suddenly, laying a hand on the witch's shoulder as he sniffed the air. "Something's burning."

Tucker leaned his head back to try and get the scent. He couldn't smell anything, but when he looked up, he could see the distant orange glow of a blaze against the darkening horizon.

"Fuck! It's the village!" Simmons was the first to realize.

"Kai!" Grif shouted, immediately running back the way they'd come. Simmons and Donut were on his heals the very next moment.

"Caboose, come on!" Tucker shouted as he picked up Junior, starting to run after his friends. But before he could make any ground, he was stopped by Washington.

"Wait!" the witch shouted as he threw himself in the ex soldier's path. "You can't go back there. It's too dangerous."

"They're my fucking _friends!_ They might be a bunch of idiots, but that doesn't mean I don't have to help them. Now get out of my way!" he snarled, trying to move around the other man, but the witch just continued to block his path.

"Dammit, would you just listen!" Washington snapped as he pushed him back. "It's the Spirits I told you about. They did this, and they're after Theta. If you take these kids back there and the Spirits see what your son can do, they'll only take him, too. You _cannot_ go back there. We have another team back in the village. They should be taking care of it."

"So how come the village is on fire?" Tucker couldn't quite help pointing out, fighting to keep ahold of Junior, who was struggling to get out of his arms.

Washington winced at this, briefly glancing over his shoulder in the direction the others had run off in. "Maybe _I_ should go back. You all can wait here with Maine."

Maine seemed about to protest at this notion, but if he actually said anything, Tucker didn't hear it, because that was the moment Junior managed to slip out of his arms, quickly disappearing into the darkening forest.

"Junior! _Stop!_ " Tucker screamed, immediately tearing off after him, even though he knew he wouldn't catch him. If Junior didn't want to be caught, he couldn't be. All Tucker could do was run in the direction he knew his son was heading, completely ignoring Washington and Theta's shouts.

 _Junior, if you get yourself killed, I'm gonna fucking kill you,_ he swore to himself as he ran. He could see the angry orange glow of the blaze through the trees up ahead, but when he finally burst out of the forest, it was still a shock to see the conflagration that had once been the village of Blood Gulch.

Most of the buildings had caught fire and the small shack on the edge of town where he lived with Caboose and the two boys was completely in flame, and the last he saw of Junior was the young cambion disappearing into the burning building.

" _JUNIOR!_ " he cried out, prepared to make the final sprint toward the pyre that had once been their home, but before he could move, an iron fist closed around his arm and held him back. Before he could even begin to struggle, he saw Theta dart past, as fast as if he'd been on wings. When he looked back, it was to find Maine holding him in place.

"Wait."

"Fucking let me go!" Tucker snarled at the vampire hunter. Maine shook his head.

"Wait."

Tucker continued to struggle, but he couldn't break Maine's grip on him. He barely even noticed when Washington and Caboose came running up behind them. All he could do was watch the house – watch the house and pray.

Given the size of the house, it couldn't have been all that long, but it still felt like an eternity that Tucker waited for his two boys to emerge from the flames. When they finally did, Theta was leading Junior by the hand, his own pale figure covered with soot and ash while the grime was barely visible against Junior's dark skin. The moment they appeared, Maine released Tucker and he was racing across the stretch of ground between the shack and the forest. Crashing to his knees beside the boys, he caught them both in his arms, holding them tightly against his chest.

"Don't you _ever_ do that to me again!" he snarled as he hugged them close. They both hugged him back while Theta apologized and explained.

"He had to rescue Vic."

Choking back a near hysterical laugh, Tucker looked down to see the little stuffed fox Junior had tucked into his shirt – his very favorite toy.

"Fucking gods, you almost got yourself killed for a toy," he said, feeling he probably found that funnier than he should. Everything was just happening so fast.

Almost as if in response to his thoughts, a soldier came flying out of the flames, smashing into the ground barely ten feet from them. The fighter was dressed in armor, but Tucker could tell it wasn't merikite just by looking at it. It reminded him more of the spirit armor he'd seen witches form with their familiar spirits, only there was something wrong with it. Every few minutes or so, the purple-hued armor seemed to flicker, leaving a brief glimpse of a redheaded woman beneath it.

"Carolina!" he heard Washington shouting as Caboose and the hunters ran toward them. Caboose and Maine came to them, but the witch went toward the woman.

"No. Keep back," she said as she struggled to her feet, but there was something odd about her voice – like a deeper undertone. "We can do this."

"Dammit, Carolina, the fusion's not holding. You're just going to get yourselves hurt if you-"

"We can do it," the woman, Carolina, said as she pushed Washington back, though her voice was starting to sound more and more like two separate voices. "We _have_ to."

Before the witch could protest further, another warrior burst out of the flames, barreling straight into Carolina. This one was dressed in white armor, and the moment he appeared, everyone except Tucker dropped to their knees, even Washington and Maine.

"Tucker…I don't…feel so good," Caboose groaned before throwing up on the singed grass. Junior wasn't far behind, turning his head to the side to avoid throwing up on either Theta or Tucker.

"What is it? What's wrong?" the ex soldier demanded.

"You don't…don't feel it?" Theta asked, leaning against him as he groaned in pain, clearly fighting throwing up.

"No. What the hell's going on?"

"It…it's Gamma…the one in white. There's…something wrong…with the body he's possessing," the little Spirit choked out.

"Carolina, fucking stop this! Let us handle it!" Washington tried to argue as he struggled to his feet. Tucker couldn't guess how he planned to handle anything in his current state.

"You had best not let me near him, Kathryn," the soldier in white said in a strange monotone sort of voice. "What happened the last time he tangled with a Spirit?"

" _Shut up!_ " Carolina snarled, delivering several blows to her enemy, but he didn't seem to feel them.

"Did you really think you could fight me like this, Kathryn? Without a proper familiar? Even with York, you could not defeat me. Do you plan on getting your nephilim friend killed as well?"

At this, an enraged snarl came from the purple-clad warrior – a sound not all human and not all animal, but definitely all rage and all pain. Carolina bodily lifted her opponent and threw him several feet, immediately springing after him. When she spoke, it was with two distinct voices – one male and one female.

"I told you to _shut the hell up!_ " the warrior with two voices screamed as she bore down on the Spirit. But before she could land another hit, Gamma was on his feet again, grabbing Carolina and slamming her back against the ground. This time when she hit, there was a sudden flash of light and there were _two_ people lying in the dirt a few feet apart from each other – Carolina and a much larger man who had blond hair and a set of golden angel wings. The only trace of the purple armor that remained was in the color of this man's cloak.

"North! _Carolina!_ " Washington cried out in panic, moving to run forward, but he was stopped when Gamma generated a sword from thin air, moving to stand over North.

"I'm quite certain you'd hate to see more violence, even if most of the village is already destroyed. Surrender our sibling and this all goes away. Or…perhaps you need a little more persuasion," Gamma said before driving his blade through one of North's wings, pinning him to the ground.

North screamed in agony as the sword pierced him, body jerking as a small spurt of blood arced from his mouth. Gamma twisted the sword several times, both driving it in deeper and drawing several more cries of pain from North.

"North…" Carolina cried out weakly, but all she could manage to do was roll onto her side.

"You know something, North Dakota?" Gamma started as he dropped to one knee beside the man, twisting the sword progressively deeper. "This is just how your precious York looked before he died. On the ground before me – helpless."

"That…that's a lie," Carolina ground out, barely conscious, her fingers scrabbling at the dirt. "He was…protecting me."

"Is that what you want then?" Gamma asked, leaning down even closer to the suffering half angel. "To die like he did? Why anyone would give up their own life to protect someone else's is beyond me. Your lover was pathetic."

At this, North's eyes snapped open, glowing with an intense white light. When he reached up to seize Gamma's wrist, he spoke with a voice that had the rage of the sun behind it.

"Don't you dare…talk about Finn… _like you knew him!_ " the half angel snarled as he tore his wing free of the spirit blade. It was left half-shattered, but North was still able to lunge forward and wrap his hands around Gamma's throat, rending what little armor protected the delicate flesh.

Briefly, North managed to reverse their positions, keeping the Spirit pinned beneath him as he fought to choke the life from his body. But then Gamma delivered a harsh blow to the side of the half angel's head, easily dropping him. When North collapsed to the scorched earth, he lay completely still.

" _NO!_ " Theta screamed, tearing himself away from Tucker and heading into the fray.

"Theta, _stop!_ "

"Brother, please stop!" Theta pleaded as he flung himself over North's unmoving body. "Don't hurt them!"

"Ah, Theta is it," Gamma said, a sense of satisfaction clear even in his strange disjointed voice. "But you're corporeal. Now however did you manage that?"

"That…it's not important," Theta said, voice becoming small again as he shrunk back from Gamma, though he kept his own body securely over North's.

"I beg to differ, little one. Can you imagine what we could accomplish free of the need to possess a physical vessel? Now how did you do it?"

"I said it's not important. You came here for me, didn't you? Why don't you just take me?"

"Leave him alone!" Washington snarled as he suddenly shoved Gamma back, placing himself solidly between the two Spirits. Then, without the aid of a familiar spirit, Tucker was shocked to see the witch manifest a spirit sword, falling into a defensive stance before his opponent.

"And now we have the precious son," Gamma said with a stilted chuckle, easily reconstituting his own sword. "Are you going to stop me? This I might have to see. After all, we're all quite familiar with your track record when it comes to fighting Spirits."

"I won't let you have Theta!" the witch shouted before launching himself into battle with the white-armored Spirit.

"Tucker!" the ex soldier suddenly heard Grif calling out to him. When he tore his gaze away from the fight, he saw his friends heading toward him down one of the burning streets. Grif was helping Simmons walk and Sarge was carrying an unconscious Kai on his back. Donut was with them, but he looked about ready to collapse.

"Lemme guess. Simmons threw up," he said as the group ran up to him.

"Now how would you know a fool thing like that?" Sarge asked. "Thought the kid was the magic one, not you."

"It's this guy," Tucker explained, nodding toward the fight between the Spirit and the witch. "He's one of the Spirits. Whatever effect he's having, looks like it's affecting spirit creatures and witches. Did…did anyone else get out?"

"Not that I saw. Afraid we might be the only ones left," Sarge said in a heavy voice. "The other one's just about torched the whole place."

"Other-"

Before Tucker could even finish the sentence, yet another figure burst out of the burning village, bearing down on the witch and the Spirit, and before Washington even seemed to realize what was happening, the new comer had grabbed ahold of him, pinning his arms against his sides while he struggled against the new assailant – a man with dark hair and eyes.

"Wash!" Maine cried out, still struggling against Gamma's effect.

Rather than simply run the witch through, though, Gamma allowed his sword to dissolve, giving that same strange chuckle as he approached.

"It seems Sigma has already begun it. And here I was hoping to be the first," the Spirit said as he laid a hand against the witch's chest – just above his heart.

"If you don't get your filthy hands off me right this second-" Washington started to threaten as he struggled against the other Spirit's hold.

"You'll do what? You are no match for _us,_ David. You are nothing but a vessel – an empty vessel waiting to be filled with our power," Gamma mocked him.

"Would you fucking get it over with, Gamma! We do not have time for you to grandstand! The rest of us would like a go, too," the other Spirit snarled angrily.

"A little patience, Omega. I have waited a long time for this. I know you have, too. You'll have your chance when I am finished," Gamma said, then he was burning something into Washington's chest and the witch was screaming in pain.

" _David!_ " Maine screamed, finally managing to get to his feet. The witch couldn't react to his partner's distress, though. When Gamma pulled his hand away, Washington slumped in Omega's hold, unable to struggle or cry out. He didn't even have the strength to get free when Omega released one arm and pressed his now free hand against the same spot Gamma had burned. Washington couldn't even manage a whimper when Omega left his own mark.

"The beloved son of Leonard Church," Omega growled in the witch's ear as he held his unresponsive body in his arms. "Such a lovely creature. Perhaps we'll feed from you, too."

"Stop doing this! _Please stop!_ " Theta cried out as he leapt to his feet. "I'll go with you. Just don't hurt these people anymore."

"That suits me just fine," Omega said as he dropped Washington to the ground, beginning to move toward Theta with Gamma close behind.

"All of the others are dead anyway," Gamma put in. "No one will care if this little town disappears. No one will even notice."

"No… _don't!_ " North suddenly begged Theta, reaching a trembling hand up to grip the Spirit's arm. "Doing this won't make _anything_ better, Theta. If you go with them…if you…"

"It can't be helped," Theta said miserably. "I always bring suffering to the people around me. I can't let them hurt my family. Thank you for trying to protect me. I will never forget it."

"Theta, no!" Tucker shouted, but before he could do anything more, Junior had slipped away from him yet again, moving to stand in front of Theta as the other two Spirits approached him.

"Junior, get back! Don't do this!" Theta pleaded, trying to push the young cambion away. Junior shook his head frantically, throwing his arms wide to shield his friend.

"The boy?" Omega hissed quietly as understanding dawned in his eyes. "That's how you've achieved this state? My, my, my. Gamma, have you ever seen a cambion with this kind of power?"

"I can honestly say I have not, brother mine. I can think of a few people who would be very eager to speak with him."

"If it's all the same to you, we'll be taking _your_ child as well, Lavernius Tucker," Omega called back to him. "This is not a gift to be wasted in a backwater place like this."

Before Theta or Junior could do anything, before Tucker could argue or even pull out his pistol, an enraged white blur smashed into Omega, sending him skidding several feet away from North and the two boys. Just as Tucker realized it was Maine, the vampire's fingernails extended out into lethal claws, which he plunged into the Spirit's throat. With an angry growl, Maine mercilessly tore Omega's head from his body, crimson blood painting the vampire's white cloak with streaks of red.

Immediately, a dark sludge-like energy began to seep from the dead body, flowing across the ground toward Tucker and the others. Before any of them could react, the energy had climbed up Sarge's body and into Kai's. In another moment, her eyes were blinking open and she was standing on her own.

"Kai?" Grif started uncertainly, but his sister just sneered at him before delivering a hard blow to his neck, knocking him unconscious and sending both him and Simmons to the ground.

"Dammit, girl, what's gotten into you?" Sarge tried almost before meeting the same fate as Grif.

"I really don't think you want to know the answer to that question," Kai said in a voice that was an eerie combination of hers and Omega's.

"You're…Omega," Tucker started, finally drawing his weapon and aiming it at the Spirit. She laughed as she looked at him.

"I am, but I'm also Kaikana Grif. So what are you going to do, Lavernius Tucker? Shoot me? Enjoy explaining that to your friend when he wakes up. If you don't mind, I think I'll be going. Our partner will be very anxious to meet your two boys," the Spirit said, making to move around him.

"No! Don't move," Tucker snapped, keeping his pistol pointed at the person who both was and was not Kai Grif. "If you touch them, I'll blow your fucking brains out."

"Ooh. Will you?" the Spirit asked, grinning at him with Kai's face as he slowly started to move forward.

"Not another step. I'm warning you," Tucker said, though he could feel his hands starting to shake.

"So you've said. The thing is, I don't believe you _will_ shoot me. Not like this," he said, moving until the muzzle of the pistol was pressed right up against Kai's chest. "After all, you won't kill _me_ if you shoot. You'll kill _her_. I'll just move on to a new host and you'll be left with a dead friend and another friend who will never speak to you again. Can you bear it, Tucker? Can you survive yet another dear friend turning his back on you?" he pressed, an ugly sneer stretching across his face.

For several long minutes, Tucker just stood there, hands trembling, barely managing to the hold the gun to his enemy.

 _Junior. Theta. Remember them. You_ _ **have**_ _to protect them! You_ _ **can't**_ _let them down!_ _ **Do it!**_

But ultimately, he couldn't make himself fire. Kai may have been a pest, but she'd been kind to him and Junior. He couldn't repay her like this. He let the weapon drop to his side, unfired.

Omega let out a malicious laugh at this, throwing Kai's head back and reveling in his victory.

"Isn't this _fun!_ All your talk, everything you've been through, and you're _still_ a coward. Maybe it would be best if I just kill you now and save you the heartbreak of being separated from your son. But really, that would just be too much fun to miss out on," the Spirit said, laughing right up to the moment he collapsed to his knees.

"W- what?" Tucker mumbled, uncomprehending. Before he could even _begin_ to make sense of what he was seeing, his attention was drawn back to the fight between Maine and Gamma when the other Spirit cried out in pain. Maine had managed to penetrate one of the joints in his armor, driving his claws into the Spirit's vessel. But rather than abandon the vessel as Omega had done, he shifted away from Maine, reappearing beside the downed Omega.

"What is it with your inability to keep a vessel?" he demanded as he knelt beside Omega.

"At least I have my pick. You're stuck with that old trash heap."

"Can't control her?"

"Barely. Dying in the last host left me drained. I was hoping you'd be able to nab the brats."

"I doubt it. The boy is very strong. I would need to be at full strength."

"Dammit. They're not going to be happy about this."

"Well, they'll just have to suck it up, now won't they. This time these morons beat us to the punch, so we have to take the loss. After all, the evening wasn't a _total_ waste. We've certainly made progress on the Initiative," Gamma said, glancing past Tucker, back at the downed Washington.

"True enough," Omega said, a pleased expression moving across his face as he looked up at Tucker. "Unfortunately, we'll have to leave you now. Don't worry, though. This isn't the end of it. We will find you…and we'll get what's rightfully ours. Oh, and before I forget, say hello to Felix for me," the Spirit said just before Gamma slung an arm around his shoulders. Then they both disappeared into thin air.

For a moment, all Tucker could manage to do was stare at the spot where the two Spirits had been. When he finally managed to shake himself out of his stupor, he realized he was the only one who was still standing. Sarge and Grif were both out cold, while Donut, Simmons, and Caboose were all down for the count, still suffering the effects of Gamma's lingering presence. Junior and Theta were both crouching next to North, who was barely clinging to consciousness, and Carolina was also completely down. Maine had also fallen back to his knees, but had made his way over to Washington, who was just beginning to reawaken as the vampire gathered him in his arms.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," the witch repeated several times in response to something Tucker hadn't heard Maine say. If the vampire said anything else, the ex soldier still couldn't hear it. All he heard was Washington's response.

"It's okay. You didn't know. I wasn't ready for it either. It's not your fault, Maine. We're okay. We're all right."

Then, not entirely to Tucker's surprise, Maine bent a little closer to Washington and pressed his lips against his in a gentle kiss.

"All right," Tucker started when he finally managed to recover his voice. "Now that you've had your little sappy moment, would one of you mind telling me… _what the fuck just happened!_ "

XxX

(A/N) So…shall we continue?


	2. Demons Come From Every Side

(A/N) Well…my apologies for being a bad storyteller to you all. The infamous 2016 has struck in my family and writing has been kinda slow between my great grandmother's death and my folks having to put down their two dogs. Not that either one was unexpected, but…yeah, no fun. I promise I will try my best to do better. So let's see how long it takes me to get out the two new chapters for Worth Dying For. In the mean time, do please enjoy this meager offering. :)

 **Through Steam and Frost**

 _Chapter 2: Demons Come From Every Side_

One thing Sigma found useful about his incorporeal form on this particular night was that it blended well with fire. He could observe his brothers' rampage through the village of Blood Gulch without anyone being the wiser. He was also able to observe how they marked David and failed dismally to capture Theta. As such, it was with both amusement and annoyance that he tracked their departure from the smoldering village, easily following after them.

The place they rematerialized in was yet another ruined village, only this one had long since gone cold. Most likely, it had been raided by daemons, given its proximity to the badlands. The burnt out husk was more than half reclaimed by the forest.

"What is it, dear brothers? Couldn't teleport any further than this?" he chastised.

His two weakened siblings immediately spun to face him. Gamma was the first to recover.

"Well, hello, Sigma. You certainly came back in a big way. Where have you been lurking these past few days?"

"Just waiting to see what might happen, I suppose," he answered in a sideways sort of manner, knowing it wasn't really the answer his brother wanted, but unwilling to give any more.

"Of course," Gamma said, voice as unreadable as ever. "Couldn't help noticing your mark on David's chest just now."

"Mm, yes. Lovely, isn't it? Just branded into that perfect, pale skin. Lets all of you know just who it was that knew him first," the Spirit couldn't quite help bragging. "No matter how many marks come together, even when the Meta Seal is complete, _my_ brand will always be the first that was laid upon his heart."

"Then you know about the Seal?" Omega pressed, still on his knees, drained from their escape. "You're aware of the Initiative?"

"I am," Sigma began as he drifted casually toward them.

"How?" Gamma asked, subtly tracking his progress. "We've seen neither hide nor hair of you since the Breaking…not until you appeared to lay claim to David. How could you possibly know about it?"

"Oh, I didn't at first. All those years, the only thing I wanted was to reclaim the boy…to have David for my very own. But no matter how I searched, I could never seem to find him. I don't know who, but I believe one of our number laid some sort of protection over him. At a guess, I would say Rho is the guilty party," he speculated as he began to circle them. "Whatever the case, David was kept hidden from me all that time. But everything changed when he revealed himself to me. That protection is weakening now I've finally fed from him again, and I saw the truth of the Seal when I drank of that rich sweetness. Alpha laid it all out perfectly, inscribed upon the boy's soul. It will take every one of us to complete it. How many have you located?" he asked as he completed his last circle, coming to a stop before his fellow Spirits.

"Our numbers include Zeta, Xi, and Omicron. Omega only just recently joined us," Gamma began to explain. "Epsilon and Rho remained with the twins that night. They have also come to possess Phi, Delta, and now Theta. Eta, Iota, Kappa, Chi, and Lambda all remain unaccounted for."

"So with me, it leaves us with at least one more than Church's children."

"That is so," Gamma said slowly. "Are you saying you will join us?"

"I'm saying it becomes more likely with each passing moment. I will, of course, need a vessel to work with, and something will have to be done about the protection that _still_ surrounds David Church – both human and magic. Most importantly, though, I would like to know who it is that's been bringing the lot of you together."

Gamma regarded him for several moments before giving him a small nod and an almost imperceptible twist of the lips. "I think that can be arranged, dear brother. After all, we must learn to trust one another if we are to triumph over our enemies."

Had he been in possession of a body, Sigma would've allowed himself a smirk. He wouldn't go right to _trust,_ certainly. None of his more intelligent siblings would, but cooperation would suffice for now, until he had gotten just what he needed from all of them.

Only then would he be able to achieve his ultimate goal.

XxX

Somehow, Tucker wasn't all that surprised when an explanation of the evening's events was not forthcoming. The vampire, Maine, just gruffly ordered him to help move everyone away from the burning village, toward the edge of the forest. Maine was able to move his two unconscious companions, and in spite of Washington's protests, he also carried the witch away from the flames. Theta helped Junior stagger to the tree line while Tucker helped Caboose make the trek. In their weakened state, it took both Simmons and Donut to move the unconscious Grif. Last of all, Maine carried Sarge to the relative safety of the line of trees, though the old bastard was already starting to come around.

"Seriously, though, is _anybody_ gonna clue us in?" Tucker put the question back to the two conscious hunters. "Our home was just destroyed. Some of us would like to know _why._ "

"We'll get to that," Washington said, still leaning against the tree where Maine had settled him. "Right now, we need to worry about getting you guys some place safe."

"Don't suppose you guys brought any automobiles with you," Simmons mumbled, not really expecting an answer. He knew how witches typically traveled.

"No, and with Carolina down, I don't have anywhere _near_ enough power to teleport all of us. There might still be something I can do, though…assuming our backup makes an appearance soon," Washington said, still somehow sounding like he had things under control, even though he was lying against a tree trunk with his eyes closed.

"There are _more_ of you guys?" Tucker pressed. "How come they aren't here right now? Couldn't they have done something?"

"Probably not. We decided they'd only come if they were needed. Carolina put in the call when she realized Gamma and Omega were in the village. They should be here any minute."

"And what's this backup gonna do if you can't teleport?" Simmons asked skeptically.

"You'll see," Washington said, eyes flickering open as a strong gust of wind came down from above. The very next moment, a winged figure swept down among the group, carrying a single passenger with her. The woman was lithe and muscular, and unlike North, her wings were leathery, red, and bat-like.

"Cambion," Donut said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. Tucker couldn't help noticing the way his son stared wide-eyed at the new arrival.

Where the cambion herself seemed lightly armed, her companion was armed to teeth, every visible surface bristling with some kind of weapon. Beneath the hood of the old green cloak he was wearing, Tucker could just make out long dark hair and a nasty X-shaped scar that marred his strong features.

"Dammit, you guys! What the fuck happened?" the cambion demanded as she moved to kneel beside North, examining the damage to his angel wing.

"A run in with Gamma and Omega. That and he and Carolina attempted an armor fusion with no training or compatibility check," Washington explained as he started to climb to his feet. "No telling how much damage it might've done."

Maine moved toward Washington, pressing a hand to the burn marks on his chest as he helped the witch stand. Whatever meaning Washington might've taken from his silence, he shrugged the vampire off with a wince.

"There's no time to worry about this. We need to get out of here. Locus?"

"Yes?" the cambion's companion asked, moving closer to the witch.

"I don't have enough energy to make a gateway to the mansion. Do you have any of the booster spells Carolina made for you?"

"I have the spells," Locus said as he pulled a small pouch from his knapsack. "But I don't know that any of the strength enhancers will be powerful enough to serve your purpose."

"It should be just enough," Washington said as he reached into the pouch, easily withdrawing a particular packet and tearing it open with his teeth. Then he dipped his fingers into the packet and used its contents to paint a set of runes on his arms.

"Dare fortitudinem mihi te iubeo," he said firmly, and the runes glowed briefly before sinking into his skin.

He drew several deep breaths and shook himself off, then moved further into the forest, toward one of the small ponds that dotted the area. Kneeling beside the still water, Washington laid his hand on the surface. After several moments, the water began to glow with an intense white light. Standing up, the witch quickly waved them over.

"Come on. I can't keep this up all night."

"Hold on," Tucker argued, keeping Theta and Junior from moving toward the gateway. "How do we know this is safe? How do we know we won't end up in some state prison?"

Washington sighed heavily, the roll of his eyes just barely visible amid the glare from the gateway. "How many times do we have to say we're not with the state? If we really wanted you out of the way, we could've left you to Gamma and Omega. You want more proof?"

"A little proof would be nice, yeah," the former soldier growled.

"All right. I'll tell you my name."

"Uh, I already know your name. Pretty sure Theta called you David before."

"I mean my last name."

Maine gave Washington a sharp look at this, but the witch shook his head in response.

"We can't keep this up. It's not like they wouldn't find out eventually. It's Church," he said, the last directed at Tucker. "My last name is Church."

"Wait…Church as in… _Leonard_ Church? _That_ Church?" Simmons clarified.

"That's the one. The old bastard was my old man. I think you know there's no way a Church would be working for the state. Are we done here?" the witch asked impatiently, raising an eyebrow.

"You know what? I'll take it," Donut said with a shrug. Working together, he and Simmons pulled Grif up to the glowing pond and into the witch's gateway. They were followed in short order by the cambion carrying North and Locus carrying Carolina. Caboose had also recovered enough by this point to help Sarge limp through, which left Tucker standing at the gateway with the two boys, still eyeing Washington and Maine distrustfully.

"In or out, Tucker?" Washington pressed. "This power boost's just about drained."

Junior tugged anxiously on his hand, pointing into the portal.

"He wants to meet the other cambion," Theta supplied.

Tucker sighed as he debated with himself. He got that. Of _course_ he did. Junior had had very little opportunity to be with his own kind…but at the same time, they had trusted before and been burned for it. How many more missteps could they afford before their number was up?

On the other hand, Theta definitely trusted these people, and the only other family he had in the world had already taken the plunge. What was to be gained by backing out now? So, picking Junior up, Lavernius Tucker allowed Theta to take his hand and lead them all through the gateway.

Nothing in his experience had really prepared him to describe what passing through that portal was like. The best he could do was to think it was something like being compressed into an infinitesimally small box of impossibly bright color and all-consuming sounds, all pressing in on him for that moment that was both forever and no time at all all at once. When he finally reemerged, it was all he could do just to hold onto his two sons in those first few moments.

The room they emerged in had once been grand, but there was clearly some wear around the edges. Whatever it had once been, it now served as some sort of office, crammed with files in several places. Tucker couldn't help noticing the large world map that dominated the back wall as he began to collapse.

"Steady on there," an unfamiliar voice started as a pair of strong arms wrapped around him, keeping him upright. Whoever it was easily helped him limp to a chair that almost seemed to materialize from among the endless filing cabinets. All the while, he kept a tight hold of Junior and Theta. When he looked up to see who had helped him, he found himself faced with a tall man with light brown skin, blue eyes, and long brown hair pulled back into a braid. He was well-muscled and his features looked to be carved from granite, but those same features were lit with a friendly smile.

"Thanks, uh…"

"Name's Butch," he supplied with a light clap to the former soldier's shoulder. "But most people call me Florida."

"Tucker," he returned uncertainly. "Lavernius Tucker."

"And who is this here?" Florida asked, smiling easily down at Junior, who returned the smile with a shy one of his own.

"He's Junior," Theta answered for him.

Florida raised a questioning eyebrow, but his smile stayed on. "And you'll be Theta."

"Uh-huh. R- Reggie was your partner…wasn't he," the little Spirit said quietly, looking hesitant himself.

"Yes," Florida returned just as quietly. His smile still managed to remain, but his eyes had gone disquiet. "Yes, he was. He was mine."

"I…I'm sorry…for what happened," Theta said, head hanging in misery.

Florida shook his head, as if shaking off whatever thoughts were chasing through his head. Then he smiled again as he tousled Theta's hair. "The way I hear it told, that wasn't your doing. There's nothing left to do but punish the one who _is_ guilty," he finished, and even though Tucker couldn't completely identify the spark he saw ignite in the man's eyes, he knew that his first impression of Florida hadn't been totally right. There was something dangerous about him.

Tucker's attention was drawn away from Florida by Maine pulling Washington through the gateway. Once the pair was through, the portal almost seemed to swallow itself up, leaving behind an ordinary mirror. The vampire helped the witch move to yet another chair, setting him down beside Carolina, who was beginning to stir herself. Looking around, Tucker saw all of the others scattered about the already crowded office – his friends, their rescuers, and still more new faces.

"So am I to deal with this constant stream of witches trying to get themselves killed?" one of the new faces asked. A woman with brown hair and skin and a pair of dark brown eyes, her face was set in an angry expression as she stood from helping the cambion tend to North, moving toward the two young witches.

"Sorry…Vanessa," Washington mumbled as he leaned against Maine. "Couldn't teleport without Carolina. Had to improvise."

"I'd love to knock your heads together right now. Remind me to do that when you're not dying," the woman said as she rubbed her temples in frustration.

"Sure thing, boss."

"Kai," Grif suddenly groaned, starting to regain consciousness. "Where's Kai?"

Donut and Simmons both looked away from the larger man, who was laid out flat on the floor. Donut winced and Simmons shook his head sadly.

"We don't know," Simmons answered.

"All right, seriously," Tucker was the one to finally pick up. "Some of us are really wanting that explanation right about now."

"Okay," Vanessa began, moving toward the desk at the center of the room. "But if you don't mind us asking first…how is it you came by Theta?"

Tucker was so surprised by the question, he found he couldn't do anything but answer it honestly. "We…didn't, really. He came to us. Junior and I…we've been on the move since the wars ended."

"Implantation?" the cambion asked.

"Yeah," Tucker said, immediately cutting off the ugly memories that went with that word. "We were all in the same unit…Caboose, Simmons, Grif, Donut, and me…all of us under Sarge."

"I wasn't gonna make the boy get rid of the little ankle biter, but the captain didn't see it that way," Sarge chimed in from where he was leaning heavily against the wall. "He was more of the 'step on its neck and shoot it in the head' school of thought."

"So I got out of there. I tried to go home, but the folks back there felt pretty much the same way…so I just kept moving. Always moving…just…looking for a place where we could live," Tucker recounted, feeling the way Junior stiffened in his arms.

"Oh, oh, this is _my_ part of the story," Caboose spoke up, raising a hand and waving it frantically. "Let me tell this part of the story!"

"Uh…" Tucker started uncertainly, but before he could come up with anything more intelligent, Caboose was off and away.

"Well, y'see, we were off fighting and a lot of bad stuff happened, but we don't talk about the bad stuff, because it was bad and not fun. But then all the bad stuff went away and we came here, but the puzzle pieces were still in the box 'cuz Tucker was not here yet. Then one day I heard him and Junior swimming in the sand, so I went to pick up a few more of the pieces," he said, nodding his head as if that made perfect sense.

Vanessa glanced around at all of them, blinking in confusion before coming out with, "I'm sorry…what?"

"Well…he's not wrong about the hearing us part – or whatever it was he did," Tucker supplied. "We'd been chased outta the last village we tried. We were wandering the badlands. I dunno how Caboose knew we were out there, but he brought us to Blood Gulch. Rest of the village barely tolerated us, but…I dunno, it wasn't nothing. That was when Theta came to us."

"How do you mean?" Vanessa pressed.

"Just what I said. He just came out of the forest one day."

"Junior was lonely. None of the other kids would play with him," Theta explained, leaning against Tucker and Junior. "Nobody else wanted him and nobody else wanted me. So I guess it worked," the young Spirit finished with a pained shrug.

"What about…the manifestation power?" Washington cut in, trying to sit up straighter, but instead being held down by Maine. "When did you figure out you could do that?"

Junior hugged Tucker tightly, looking between Theta and Washington.

"He wanted to hug me," Theta answered simply, smiling at Junior. "He made it so he could."

"And do you think you could do it again?" the witch asked, to which Junior just nodded.

"Probably doesn't matter if he can or not. The Spirit gang's going to want him anyway," the cambion pointed out, her attention still mostly on North.

"And why is that? Just what are these Spirit guys?" Tucker pressed, trying to get the conversation back in the direction of the information he needed.

Sighing heavily, Vanessa looked down at her hands folded on her desk, her expression grim. "The best place to begin is probably introductions. It will make things easier if we all know who we're talking to and about. My name is Vanessa Kimball."

"Hold up," Simmons interrupted before she could say more. "You don't mean Kimball like…the _House_ of Kimball, do you? As in the dragons of the line of Kimball?"

Vanessa nodded, a tired smile moving across her face. "Well, it's been a damn good while since I heard _that_ one, but yes. That would be me."

"No way," Donut murmured in awe. "I thought you guys had all died out."

"Just about there. I'm the last. After my father disowned me, he had me erased from the records. But he and his whores were never able to turn out anymore heirs, so after his death, my mother saw that I inherited."

"So how is it a bastard like Jethro Kimball could find fault with anybody?" Sarge asked. "Man definitely weren't no kind of decent himself."

At this, Vanessa laughed. "That's putting it mildly. He was…a bit of a traditionalist when it came to hunting. He didn't like that I agreed with Leonard Church's methods…or at least I did back before the wars. Whatever the case, the old man's stubbornness came to nothing in the end. The Kimball Estate is mine now and I've used the family's holdings to maintain this freelance hunting business of ours…keep it as free from state influence as much as I possibly can. And who might you be?" she asked the old soldier.

"Erik Sargent, second lieutenant of the 14th Southern Mixed Forces Division. Folks mostly just call me Sarge."

"To the point," Vanessa said with a shrug. "Lavernius Tucker and Lavernius Jr. I know. The rest of you?"

"Franklin. Puca," Donut volunteered with a small grin. "I go by Donut, though."

"Somehow I get the impression we're better off not asking," Washington put in with a pained chuckle.

"Yeah, no," Simmons quickly started up before the puca could say anything else. "My name is Dick Simmons. Born and raised in Blood Gulch. And while I _do_ have a hollow point, my father never much liked witches, so I've had no training," he explained, speaking mostly to Washington.

"Well, we might just be able to do something about that," Vanessa told him. "Any witch skills, no matter how minimal, will be useful in the coming months."

"Y'know…if you think training this loser'll do any good," Grif ribbed half-heartedly, still laid out on the floor of the office. Despite the teasing, he still reached out a hand to grip Simmons', and the untrained witch returned the grip just as fiercely as he was able. Once they were securely holding hands, the man continued with, "Dexter Grif. Not much to say except point me at that Omega freak so I can get my sister back."

"That ain't gonna happen any time soon if you go on layin' there like the lazy smart ass you've always been," Sarge pointed out.

"Don't see you doing much better over there, Sarge. How 'bout it? Feel up to running some laps right now? You can talk when you get back from that."

"What happened to your sister?" Vanessa asked before the argument could escalate any further.

"Maine killed Omega's last vessel," Washington answered. "Kai was unconscious at the time, so he possessed her."

"Oh, no," Vanessa murmured, hand briefly covering her face.

"Hold up," the last unfamiliar person in the room started – a man with the golden skin of an Easterner, brown eyes, a half-shaved head of long black hair that was streaked with orange in several places, and an eclectic collection of tattoos marking several inches of the visible skin. "Omega was there?"

"Yeah," Washington answered again. "He and Gamma both…and they marked me…like Sigma did," he said, hand briefly gesturing toward the spot where his shirt had been burned away, leaving bare the brands on his chest.

"What? _Why?_ " Vanessa demanded, looking like she might stand from the desk and go to the young witch, but he warned her off with a shake of his head.

"Damned if I know," he said, not looking at any of them as he reached for Maine's hand. "But I think it might have something to do with Alpha."

"Oh, my Gods!" Tucker snarled. "Who the fuck is Alpha?"

"Alpha was the first angel," North's voice suddenly joined the conversation, still weakened, but more or less conscious. As he continued to speak, he kept his eyes closed. "That holy spirit the Gods first set in place to keep the balance between life and death. All angels take their descent from Alpha, and it was that angel Leonard Church infamously violated in his attempts to defy death."

"What…what is it he _did,_ exactly?" Donut was the one to ask. "Everybody knows it was the Shard Witch who started the wars between the humans and the daemons, but…what did he actually _do?_ "

"He tried to bring his wife back to life. He believed that with his soul fragmentation technique, he would be able to fuse with Alpha and force the boundaries between the living and the dead to function at his whim, but…" Vanessa tried to explain, her voice trailing off into nothing as her gaze fixed itself on Washington.

"He failed," the young witch took up the explanation when she couldn't finish, his gaze drifting up to something none of them could see as his grip on Maine's hand tightened. "He brought her back…but it wasn't really her…and then he lost control of the fragmentation. He and Alpha were destroyed. The state circulated the story that nothing remained of either of them after the Breaking, but that was a lie. The fused soul split into fragments…beings with human passions and angelic power."

"The Spirits," Tucker said quietly, gaze briefly shifting between Washington and Theta.

"Yes."

"And how do you know about all of this?" the ex soldier pressed. He remembered the witch saying something about being present when Theta was born, but a little more confirmation would be nice.

"Like I said before," the witch began slowly, "I was there the night it happened. I followed them to the place of the casting…and I saw it all…the Breaking," he said, voice growing more distant with each word.

"So that's your connection with the angel? You watched Alpha die?" Simmons asked.

"Among…other things," he answered absently, not really seeming to be with them anymore.

"What things?" Tucker continued to press. Instead of a response from Washington, though, the only thing he got was a warning growl from Maine. The answer came instead from Carolina.

"Many of the Spirits latched onto the only living thing still present. They invaded his mind," the redheaded witch said as she finally joined the conversation. "Nearly shattered it."

"Why didn't they?" Grif asked.

"We don't know. We have no idea why they didn't just kill him. For a while, it…it seemed like they might as well have. He was thirteen when it happened. He didn't speak for three years after."

Washington hadn't reacted during any of this. He just continued to stare blankly ahead, shoulders tense and knuckles white from the strength with which he gripped Maine's hand, and it was only at this that Tucker decided to back down. He knew those expressions. He'd worn them himself after…after Junior was conceived. Noticing that Theta was beginning to cry, he hugged the small Spirit close with Junior.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm _so sorry_ ," Theta cried over and over again.

"What are you sorry for? Existing?" North asked gently as he looked at the Spirit. "That's hardly your fault. Could you really have stopped any of your more malevolent of your brothers on your own? Sigma, Gamma, Omega, Omicron, all of them – they're truly dangerous. They would've torn you apart if you'd tried to interfere."

"Even at that, Epsilon was the one who did the most damage," Vanessa took up the explanation. "He was too weak to escape that night and Rho remained behind to watch over Wash, to keep him alive until we could get there. We've had the two of them in our possession ever since, and we'd been trying to locate the other Spirits all this time, but none of them had resurfaced until now. Phi and Delta have come to be in our possession as well, and the others…Gamma and Omega, at least…appear to be trying to gather the Spirits up again. We don't know why, but it's the reason they came after Theta, and most likely why they've marked Wash."

"But why would they want Junior?" Tucker asked, directing his questions now more toward Vanessa and Carolina.

"In their pure forms, their impact on the physical plane is limited. To be most effective, they need a vessel to channel their powers," Carolina began to explain. "Can you imagine how much more dangerous they'd be free of the need to possess living beings?"

"I could…but I don't really want to," Tucker said quietly as he hugged his two boys just a little bit tighter.

"Now that they know about him, they'll stop at nothing to get their hands on your son, along with Theta and all the other Spirits," Vanessa told him, her voice heavy with worry.

"So what do we do?" Tucker asked.

"Heheh, guess you're not a total loss," the one who'd asked about Omega laughed out. "Most people would run the other way if they had a bunch of immensely powerful, pretty much unbeatable monsters after 'em."

"What? It's not like I've never been up shit creek without a paddle before. They'll stop at nothing to get these two? Fine. I'll stop at nothing to keep them," Tucker said with more conviction than he actually felt. Sure, he was going to try like fuck to protect his boys, but that didn't necessarily mean he was up to the challenge. "By the way, who even _are_ you?"

"Oh, right, Guess we never finished those intros. Felix Choi, normal human hunter 'til about a week ago. Now I'm a werewolf. Howl, motherfucker," the hunter said with a wry sneer.

Tucker would've been ashamed to admit that his first response was fear. After all, newborn werewolves didn't exactly have a reputation for self-control. Fear, however, was typically people's first response to Junior and Theta, so he would have to do better than that. The dilemma was soon chased from his mind, though, when he realized what name the hunter had identified himself by.

"Hold on. Did you say your name was Felix?"

"The one and only."

"Omega said something about you…about saying hello."

Felix's eyes flashed in rage at this and he inhaled sharply, hand falling to his belt, which was lined with several knives.

"Felix," Locus started warningly, laying a hand on the other hunter's shoulder. Felix allowed the contact for a moment, but then he shook Locus off with an angry growl.

"Omega's the bastard that bit me," he snapped out. "Just as soon as we find a way of icing these shitheads, you can bet I'm gonna be first in line for that motherfucker."

"Just so long as my sister's not part of that package," Grif put in, and before Felix could respond one way or the other, Simmons was already turning the conversation in a different direction.

"Question," he started, raising a hand. "What was the deal with Gamma back there? I honestly felt like I was going to puke up all my internal organs. Whatever that effect was, it even took Caboose down. That's not easy."

"Reg was there the night of the casting," Carolina said. "He was killed…but before his soul had properly had a chance to pass on, Gamma claimed his body."

"Gamma is using the remnants of his soul to maintain the flesh as a vessel," Florida suddenly stepped in, an edge of something cold and harsh in his voice, lingering just beneath his friendly expression. "The violation of a fractured soul kept trapped in between planes like that leaves an impression on the Aether. Anyone who's even slightly magically inclined will be able to sense just what an abomination he is in his current state."

"So your friend's physical strength makes little difference in this case," Vanessa explained. "It's his power the violation affects. Though…I'm almost afraid to ask who you are," she said to the man in question. Caboose just grinned his usual dopey grin.

"I believe they said my name was Michael J. Caboose…and I do not like churches," he said with a nod.

Vanessa just blinked for several moments before responding with, "I'll…take your word for it then."

"He's a witch," Sarge filled in. "None of us knows all that much about the kid. His record's pretty blank. They just dumped him in our division near the end of the fighting. Mostly harmless, I'd say."

Tucker could tell by her expression that Vanessa wanted to ask about that 'mostly', but she kept herself in check.

"So who is the bat lady?" Caboose asked in the lull following the explanation. "She didn't get to be introduced."

The cambion stared at him oddly for a moment, wings flapping anxiously against her shoulders in the small space. Ultimately, she answered with, "South. Just call me South."

"North and South. Don't suppose there's any relation there," Sarge said with a teasing smirk.

"Twins," North answered before South could say anything.

"Now how is it a cambion and a nephilim can be twins?" Grif asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Human mother. She had a daemon lover and an angel lover," the nephilim explained.

"Well…that had to be an interesting threesome," Donut was the one to finally comment.

North just rolled his eyes upward and South seemed to have trouble deciding if she was offended or amused. Finally deciding on amused, she shook her head and laughed.

"You bitches are okay. I might like you."

"Well, it's definitely been a long night, and the coming days don't promise to be uneventful," North started as he began to tuck his wings. "Maybe it would be best if everyone got some sleep before we get any further."

"Hey!" South protested. "Don't you dare tuck your wings with that injury. You'll just make it worse. You're already on the fritz after that botched fusion. Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?"

North gritted his teeth and grunted in pain as he finished the tuck, his wings vanishing into thin air. Then he looked over at his sister, breathing heavily as he spoke. "I have no intention of dying just yet. I promise you. I'll get some rest when we've got everyone taken care of. You should get back to Connie."

"You don't need any help?" South pressed, glaring suspiciously at her twin.

North shook his head. "Go ahead. I need to talk to Carolina anyway," he said, looking past South at the young witch, who nodded.

"Certainly no denying North's right. We could all definitely do with a good night's sleep. If you could all just follow me, I'll make sure everyone has a room for the night," Vanessa said as she stood from her desk.

"You really expect us to sleep after that fiasco?" Sarge asked, even though he did push himself to a standing position as if to follow her.

"I do. If anyone needs a spell to help them sleep, we can provide that as well. If nothing else, I can guarantee you that you will sleep safe inside these walls. _Maybe_ the senate building excepting, there's no place that's better protected than the Kimball Estate."

XxX

Once all was said and done, Tucker wound up in a bedroom with Junior, Theta, and Caboose. Vanessa had offered to set the witch up in a room of his own, but they'd all wanted to stay together, just like they had been in their little shack back in Blood Gulch. And just like back then, Caboose had insisted on his little pallet near the window. Even though there was more luxurious bedding available to him, the witch insisted on the familiar, wanting to be able to look out and see the sky.

Like Sarge, Tucker didn't see how he was going to be able to sleep in this strange place. He hadn't taken Kimball up on the offer of a spell either, thinking it would be better for him to stay awake and keep watch. That changed the moment he'd laid down on the bed with the two boys. Only when he felt the softness of the mattress beneath him did he feel just how bone tired he really was. With Junior and Theta both cuddled up in his arms, he was ready to pass the fuck out.

"Tucker?" Theta whimpered, clinging a little tighter to him.

"Huh?"

"I…I'm sorry…about all this. If it wasn't for me…you and Junior would be safe right now."

"Heh, Theta, don't give yourself too much credit. We're _never_ safe…not really. It's the way things are. If it wasn't for you, Junior wouldn't have the great brother he has…and he wouldn't have anyone to speak for him. You're part of this family, too. Don't you forget it. Like Sarge says, we stick up for our own." Never mind that the rest of that quote was 'by sticking a shotgun up the other scumbag's ass.'

"Thank you," Theta whispered, and Tucker felt his throat tighten a bit when he felt the little Spirit's tears starting to soak his shirt, but a smile also worked its way onto his face when Junior reached across his chest to pat Theta's arm. Whatever the young cambion said to him, it made Theta giggle through his sniffling.

"Junior wants to know if we can still make cookies."

Despite his exhaustion, Tucker managed a small laugh of his own. "Shouldn't be a problem. Huge place like this is bound to have a good kitchen. We'll see what they've got lying around tomorrow. What was on that list again? Chocolate chip, snicker doodle, and peppermint?" he clarified, dropping a goodnight kiss on each boy's head.

"Sugar cookies, too," Caboose put in sleepily from his place by the window.

"Right," Tucker said with a yawn. "Better get to sleep then. That way it'll be tomorrow faster."

If anyone said anything to this, the ex soldier didn't hear it. He was dead asleep almost before he'd finished speaking.

XxX

After getting all of their new arrivals set up with rooms and making certain the members of their own ragtag family made their way to their beds, Vanessa and Butch made their way up to Donald Doyle's bedroom to update the older witch on the situation.

"I must say, I find it most disconcerting when the pair of you come to see me with such solemn expressions. I do hope everyone's made it back in one piece this time," Doyle said when the hunter and the brownie entered the room.

"More or less…and with several pieces more besides," Vanessa said heavily as she sat down at the foot of his bed. "Gamma and Omega destroyed Blood Gulch."

"Oh…oh, dear," he fretted.

"David brought back the few that survived. Theta was with them."

"We might have a new student for you, though, so I certainly hope you're feeling recovered enough for the task," Butch said as he climbed onto one of the chairs that surrounded his partner's fireplace, settling himself in a fashion that could only be described as cat-like.

"A new student?" Doyle questioned, looking to Vanessa for an explanation.

"One of the survivors is a witch, but he's never been trained to his gifts. He'll need a teacher. We need every hand we can possibly get in this fight. Do you think you've got the energy for it?" she asked. Her voice was firm, but there was concern in her expression for her oldest friend.

Doyle managed a small smile as he sat up in bed. "Vanessa, I promise you, I'm most anxious to be up and about. All this bed rest has had even _me_ going mad."

"Well, that's what happens when you try to kill yourself by teleporting more souls than you can reasonably handle," the older hunter snarked back at him, rolling her eyes in fond exasperation. "I hope you've learned your lesson."

"We'll just have to see, now won't we. After all, who's to say how much training this young fellow will take. I'm most eager for a new pupil, especially seeing as how the old ones seem to have stopped listening entirely. Vanessa…David and Kathryn, Matthias and Rhys…how are they, really?" he asked her, voice falling more into her and Butch's tone of concern.

"When faced with Gamma…Kat and Rhys performed an armor fusion without any prior drills."

"Oh, Gods," Doyle groaned, briefly burying his face in his hands. Armor fusion was difficult enough between perfectly synced partners. To attempt it without any prior training was verging on suicidal. "Tell me they at least checked compatibility points."

"I don't think they even did that. Really, would either of them have _wanted_ to know they were incompatible? They would've attempted it regardless…especially to fight Gamma. They'll stop at nothing to see him destroyed."

"I understand that, but they'll help no one if they kill themselves in the trying. Finn wouldn't want that for either of them."

"Now if only _they_ would hear that. I know they're both hurting more than they let on, from this and…from York's death…but there's no force on any plane I know of that could get either of them to admit it," Vanessa said sadly. It tore at something in her to see their wards suffering like this. They'd been through so much already.

"They can only do what they see fit to do, I suppose," the older witch said with a heavy sigh. "What…what about David?"

"He's…Gamma and Omega, they…they branded him…just like Sigma did."

"Gods," the witch whispered in quiet horror, gripping his blankets in white knuckles.

"Donald…why are they doing this? What does it _mean?_ "

"I have no idea. Butch, Reg…Reggie never said anything to you about…" Doyle trailed off as he looked past Vanessa, to his partner.

"Not a thing," the brownie said with a shake of his head. "If he had, I would've shared it with you a long time before now. I don't know what any of it means. I have _no idea_ what any of them were thinking. At this point, I suspect all _we_ can really do is watch over them. What Leonard and the others set in motion eleven years ago…it's beginning," he said quietly as he looked away from his partner and his boss, looking instead into the embers of the fire that was burning low in the hearth, divining no more meaning from the wisps of smoke than he could from the symbols the two Spirits had left burned into Wash's skin.

XxX

Once she'd made certain her brother was at least able to walk on his own, South had done as he'd wanted and gone back to her own room. Conchenn of the Terrapin clan, or simply Connie, as South had taken to calling her in the brief time they'd known each other, was there waiting for her.

The mermyd's long brown hair cascaded down her back in a tangle that was both wild and beautiful. She blinked her lovely light brown eyes at South in concern as she entered the room. The next fact the cambion noticed was that the water spirit wore nothing from the waist up, most likely nothing from the waist down either, but it was difficult to tell, as Connie's new legs were lost in the tangle of sheets and blankets on South's bed. It had been difficult to convince the mermyd of the need for clothing and when she was in the sanctuary of the cambion's room, she didn't even bother with them.

"Are you all right?" Connie asked her as she sat up a little straighter. Had she been a little more steady on her legs, South imagined she would have stood up and come to her, but she was still uneasy with the human appendages, so she remained sitting. The cambion offered her a wry smile as she crossed to the bed.

"Don't worry. I'm fine. Just had to bail the others out of their own shit," she reassured the mermyd as she took her in her arms, pressing her lips against Connie's in an easy kiss. For a moment, she even drew her wings forward to wrap around her lover's lithe frame, loving the feeling of holding her so close. She wanted to deepen the kiss, but resisted the urge, instead pulling away to strip out of her clothes for bed. She could practically feel Connie's disappointment at the loss of contact, and she certainly wouldn't deny relishing the feel of the mermyd's eyes on her body as she stripped for her.

"And…is everyone all right?" Connie asked, though her attention was clearly on other things.

"As they can be. Nobody's dead this time…nobody we know, at least," South said, making sure to tuck her wings before shutting down the lamp and climbing into bed with Connie.

"I'm glad…you're not hurt," Connie said quietly, fingers reaching forward in the dark to trace along the now bare contours of South's body. The cambion couldn't quite help the gasp that escaped her lips when an errant thumb ghosted over her left nipple. The lightning bolt of sensation traveled directly from the point of contact down to her groin, causing her heart to flutter in a way she'd never experienced before meeting Connie.

Taking advantage of her distraction, Connie moved in for another kiss, pressing herself more firmly against the cambion's body. South reveled in the kiss, letting her mouth slip open for a brief taste of the mermyd's lips.

Taking the invitation to deepen the kiss a little more, Connie reached for South's hand, slowly drawing it to the place between her legs. Before her fingers could brush against the tender flesh, though, South managed to snap out of the daze and withdraw her hand from the mermyd's strong grip.

"Hey, Connie, it's been a long night. I'm sorry, but would you mind if we just sleep tonight?" she asked, not pushing Connie away, but somehow managing to pull herself out of the frame of mind her bedfellow had clearly wanted her to be in.

"O- of course, Enid. If that's what you want…" Connie trailed off as she looked away from her.

"Don't look so down," South scolded with a light kiss to the corner of her mouth. "I promise I'm gonna make those pretty new legs shake. Things are just…still kinda crazy around here."

"I understand," Connie said, even though South knew she really didn't. While the mermyd rested her head against the cambion's breast, South cradled her close, willing her desire away all the while.

Ever since the sound of Connie's heart song had pierced South's ear barely a week before, the two of them had been connected – connected in a way the cambion couldn't completely fathom. Connie had explained to her the meaning of the soul bond – what they were to each other – and South knew deep down that she felt all of those things for Conchenn, but at the same time, it was that unfamiliar stirring of love that caused her to hesitate.

South didn't understand why fate would match someone like Connie with someone like _her._ She wasn't kind; she wasn't loving or tender. In fact, she was _none_ of the things that Connie deserved. She was a half-breed slut who got her kicks wherever she could find them, and that had never bothered her before, but now _this._ What did it mean? What did _any_ of it mean?

Normally, she wasn't shy about her interest in a beautiful woman, but this was different. Conchenn of the Terrapin wasn't just _any_ beautiful woman. She was special – precious – and South was afraid that her own nature could do nothing but taint that kind of beauty. If this story about heart songs was true, then Connie was _hers_ – completely. But the reverse was true, as well, and if she were honest, that kind of absolute surrender frightened her just a little bit. Was she really capable of letting herself just fall into something like this…and if she wasn't, did she have any right to even _look_ at Connie? It was for this reason that she delayed taking what she wanted – what Connie was clearly so willing to share with her. And she had no idea how to explain that to Connie, so there they were, stuck hovering on the edge while the world went to shit around them.

Sighing heavily, South just pressed Connie a little more firmly against her breast as she tried to seek refuge in sleep, not knowing exactly how to hold on, but lacking the will to let go.

XxX

After North and Carolina had helped each other limp to York and North's room, all they'd really had the energy to do was collapse weakly on the couple's bed, just trying to regain enough strength for this conversation they both knew had to take place. When they finally did, North was the one to break the silence.

"Well…that didn't work."

"I noticed," Carolina said with a pained sigh, rolling onto her side to face her one time partner. "I'm sorry. This is my fault. I should've known better. I was just so angry. All I could think about was York."

"I know. Me, too," he said, pain clear in his crystal blue eyes as he reached across to touch her shoulder. "But I didn't exactly discourage you, either. I knew it was dangerous…dangerous and stupid. We're both equally at fault here. But we have to face facts. We can't take another hit like that. I don't think even training would help. We just aren't compatible enough to serve each other as partners. Righteous anger isn't enough to form a stable bond."

"No. Heh…York would've smacked us both," the young witch said, her faint smile twisted with heartbreak. "And we have to find _something_ to do. We can't just let Gamma go."

"No, we can't," North said slowly, looking her in the eyes. "And I think you _know_ what needs to happen here."

"North…don't…I _can't._ Not this soon after-" Carolina tried to argue, knowing exactly what the nephilim was getting at.

"It doesn't matter what you can or can't do. You _have_ to," he said, tone maybe a shade more harsh than he'd meant to allow. "It's like you said. We _can't_ let Gamma get away with what he did."

"You don't _get_ it, do you," she hissed in both pain and anger. "I was _bound_ to him. For seven years…he was my partner."

"I _do_ understand, Kat. More than you can know, I understand, but it isn't just for Finn anymore. You need to be at your best for what's coming. David, Matt, all the others…they're going to _need_ you. In order to be what you have to be, you're going to need a new familiar spirit. You need to perform the summoning ritual again," he told her. "There's no telling how long it will take for someone to answer. You need to do it _soon._ "

"Rhys…my partner just _died_ for me…and some of the most dangerous creatures to ever exist in this world have beef with me and my family…and you want me to bring an innocent bystander into all of that?" she asked, trying to sit up and failing.

North shook his head. "The summoning doesn't work like that and you know it. It won't _be_ someone innocent. It will be the person you _need,_ the one who's _supposed_ to be with you right now. You know that. You're just afraid of opening yourself up to that kind of bond so soon."

Sighing again, Carolina nodded. She knew all of that, but North was right. She was scared. "I really…can't do anything at this exact moment. I still need to recover from that massive fuckup. But soon…I'll do it soon. I promise," she said. In terms of physical sensation, her soul felt like it had been dragged over miles of rusty nails and broken glass. She couldn't use her magic to turn off the lights right now, much less perform a summoning. No doubt North was even worse off than her after the damage he'd taken from Gamma.

North offered up a pained chuckle at that. "That I can sympathize with. This will take some time to heal from, but I'll be here every step of the way to make sure you do what you need to," he said, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before withdrawing his hand.

"Thanks, North," she said quietly, returning his steady gaze with one of her own. After a moment, she tried to get up again, but still couldn't quite manage it. Groaning in an amused but pained sort of way, she kicked an impotent foot against the mattress.

"Can't move?"

"Nope."

"Don't worry about it. You can sleep here tonight."

"Thanks."

XxX

It took all of Maine's self-control not to override Wash's wishes when the young witch said he didn't need for him to carry him up to their room. He was on edge the entire trek up, half-waiting for his lover to just collapse. When they finally made it to their room, they didn't even bother changing out of their clothes. They just fell onto the bed together, both exhausted to the bone.

 _Are you all right?_ he asked Wash through their mental link, reaching a hand forward to trace along the side of his face.

"No," the witch answered honestly, smiling weakly as he leaned into the touch. "But…what can you do?"

 _I'm sorry. I should've been able to stop them._

At this, Wash managed a small laugh. "How could you have? I don't think either of us really believed Carolina when she described Gamma's effect. It's certainly not _your_ fault you've only been a spirit creature for the better part of a week."

 _If I'd been human, it wouldn't have affected me._

"If you'd been human, they could've easily killed you," Wash pointed out. "It's not black and white…not one way or the other. And…with your power, we'll be able to learn the armor fusion. It's the only way we'll be able to resist the effect. I'll just need a little more time to recover before we start training. What about you? How are you doing?"

 _Fine. The effect's passed. By this point, it's just exhaustion,_ he explained with a tired smile.

"Are you thirsty at all? Do you need to feed?" Wash asked, lifting his head up as much as he was able.

Maine shook his head, urging the witch to lie back down. "No. I'm fine. You need to save your strength," he said aloud.

"Are you sure?" Wash pressed with a worried look. "Elsie said you'd need to feed often until you got the hang of it."

 _Then she doesn't know what she's talking about,_ the vampire insisted. _I'm all right. When I need to feed, I'll tell you,_ he insisted, even though they both knew it was a lie. Maine wouldn't feed from Wash until he had absolutely no other choice.

The thought of drinking Wash's blood to survive made him feel too much like Sigma – drinking magic from the witch's hollow point by force. He wasn't going to allow himself to open his lover's veins until he was at the utmost end of need…until he was at the absolute edge of starvation. While what he said was true, that he was fine for now, feeling only the slightest flicker of desire for the life-sustaining fluid pumping steadily just beneath the witch's skin, he knew that time would come. He knew what a vampire's hunger could become and he knew he would eventually succumb to it, no matter how much he didn't want to. Until then, he was going to be strong for Wash, because Wash needed him right now, and he'd be damned before he allowed himself to fail him again.

 _Get some rest,_ he urged as he pressed a kiss to Wash's forehead. _What kind of meal are you going to make if you can't even keep your own energy up?_

Wash managed another small laugh for the joke, but Maine could feel that he was still shaking just a little as he cuddled up close against his chest. Cradling him gently in his arms, Maine pressed several more kisses to the top of the witch's head as he began to sing, knowing that Wash loved the sound of his voice.

 _Kiss me too fiercely_

 _Hold me too tight_

 _I need help believing_

 _You're with me tonight_

 _My wildest dreamings_

 _Could not foresee_

 _Lying beside you_

 _With you wanting me_

 _And just for this moment_

 _As long as you're mine_

 _I've lost all resistance_

 _And crossed some borderline_

 _And if it turns out_

 _It's over too fast_

 _I'll make every last moment last_

 _As long as you're mine_

XxX

(A/N) And for anyone unfamiliar, Maine's little song is 'As Long as You're Mine', from the musical 'Wicked'.


End file.
